Dedicated Follower Of Fashion by Les May

I STARTED reading the then Manchester Guardian in 1960 when I started work and for the first time had the money to buy it. For forty or so years, during which it changed dropped the Manchester bit, I was a loyal reader, but somewhere around 2000 I finally tired of its increasingly uncritical feminism and stopped buying it.

The final straw was an article about a couple of women who claimed to have ‘taken on’ the builders. It turned out that one was an academic and the other a student and they had worked on a site for all of a fortnight in the middle of summer. In other words not exactly a lifetime working outside in the middle of winter. More like a fortnight in the sun and then back to a nice warm office or lecture theatre for the cold wet weather.

Though Suzanne Moore, with her ever so predictable man bashing columns, has never been one of my favourite journalists, but I certainly warmed to her comments; ‘the cult of righteousness that the Guardian embodies’ and ‘lately it has been hard to define what the Left consists of beyond smug affirmation’ in a piece entitled Why I had to leave The Guardian.

Moore had written an article which, as well as being in her usual man bashing style, complete with references to ‘the patriarchy’ and ‘who the real enemies are’ (a.k.a. Men), included the comment that some women ‘were uncomfortable with people being able to self-declare as a man or a woman – whatever their biological sex – for all sorts of reasons.’. It also referred to the ‘disinviting’ of Selina Todd, a professor of modern history at the University of Oxford, who was due to give a polite two-minute speech of thanks at an event at Exeter College, on the grounds that she had addressed a meeting of the group Woman’s Place UK, which was formed in 2017 after proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act.

This was too much for the sensitive souls at The Guardian and 338 of them took exception to it in a letter to the editor.

So long as the fashion amongst those who like to call themselves ‘of the Left’ was that women, however privileged, were to be seen as the most oppressed creatures in the world, Moore was never short of a market for her wares. But then being ‘trans’ knocked women off the top spot and suddenly Moore found some of her views were unfashionable. Hence the letter.

A friend recently suggested that Labour’s poor showing in the recent election might be because working people had no time for the world of identity politics which has become the go-to issue for many would be activists on the Left. Is it just coincidence that when they were Labour leadership candidates Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey signed up to a pledge put together by the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights? Perhaps working people just have different priorities.

You can find Moore’s original article here:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2020/mar/02/women-must-have-the-right-to-organise-we-will-not-be-silenced

And her version of the spat at The Guardian here:

https://unherd.com/2020/11/why-i-had-to-leave-the-guardian

For a quite different take on The Guardian look here;

https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/05/05/the-ugly-truth-about-the-guardian/

NV can no longer embed links in the text of articles. To use these links copy the full text of the link into your browser (Startpage, DuckDuckGo or Google) and search in the usual way.

Would the election of Long-Bailey lead to witch-hunts in the Labour Party?

Rebecca Long-Bailey
By Derek Pattison

Rebecca Long-Bailey is Unite's choice for Labour's next leader. In their Spring 2020 issue of 'unite Works' the magazine for Unite members, Long-Bailey, a 40-year-old Roman Catholic Salfordian, is described by Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, as having both "Brains and brilliance." 

The article, or should I say, panegyric, tells us that Long-Bailey, the daughter of a dockworker, grew up in working-class Salford and before going to university (to study politics and sociology) and becoming a solicitor, had worked in various odd jobs including a pawn shop, call centre, furniture factory, and as a postwoman. You might say that 'Becky' has pulled herself up by her own bootstraps, or that is what we're led to believe. Unite members are told of her gastronomic delights, a Chinese takeaway, sweet and sour chicken balls, fried rice, chips and curry sauce. According to Long-Bailey, what distinguishes her from the other Labour leadership candidates, is "her deeply-held socialist beliefs." She says:

"My politics are very specific. I've always been true what I've believed in. I was one of the first MPs in 2015 to give a speech where I said I was proud socialist. At that time, that was unheard of."

Rebecca Long-Bailey became the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles at the 2015 General Election. She has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet since 2017. Many of her more controversial comments and views were not dealt with in the Unite interview with her, so here are some key facts to focus on when holding your nose and voting for Long-Bailey.

Long-Bailey would like to see Luciana Berger return to the Labour fold even though she stood unsuccessfully for a rival party, the Liberal Democrats, at the last general election. She would also like to see Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, return to the party even though Campbell publicly admitted to voting Liberal Democrat at the last election. 

During the campaign for Labour leader, Long-Bailey announced that she had signed up to the Board of Deputies of British Jews ten pledges, or 'Ten Commandments', aimed ostensibly at tackling anti-Semitism within the Labour Party. Thousands 0f people called on her to oppose the 10 pledges which they fear is aimed at censoring criticism of Israel. During an interview with Robert Peston in February, Long-Bailey was asked by Peston: 

"Do you regard it as anti-Semitic, to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact? Is that an anti-Semitic statement?

Long-Bailey replied, "Yes," and then Peston pointed out that the Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had said that statement is not anti-Semitic.

A Roman Catholic, Long-Bailey has said that she opposes the law on abortion after 24 weeks on the grounds of disability arguing that disability and none disability should be treated equally. She's also said that though she believes in a woman's right to choose, she "would never contemplate abortion." What seems curious, is why a Roman Catholic, should be in favour of abortion at all and why Long-Bailey should support same-sex marriage which many Christian's consider reprehensible and contrary to scripture.

Among her other pledges, which Long-Bailey took on board and signed up for, was the bizarre '12-point plan' initiated by a group called 'Labour Campaign for Trans Rights'. The plan, (which is likely to lead to women Labour Party members leaving the party in droves if it ever becomes Labour policy) demands the expulsion of anyone deemed to be espousing "bigoted transphobic views" and names 'Women's Place UK' and 'LGB Alliance' as 'transphobic organisations' that must be opposed. Women's Place, which is comprised of Labour Party members, wants to keep 'women-only' spaces' and denies being transphobic and says the accusation is defamatory.

As a member of Unite the Union, I emailed Rebecca Long-Bailey on 9 March 2020, to give her the opportunity to explain what she really understood by 'bigoted transphobic views' and sought her view on some aspects of the transgender issue (see below). I was curious why a Roman Catholic would want to expel Labour Party members who insist that a person's sexuality is biological and not something that can be self-assigned or embrace such ideological idiocy. To date, I have not had a response to my email.

Long Bailey has called on Unite members to vote for her in the Labour leadership election and says that "Labour will need a leader (who) will be able to tackle Boris Johnson at the dispatch box", and told Unite members: "I don't think he'll be able to handle a northern, working-class woman with a forensic eye for detail."

Len McCluskey believes that Long-Bailey "has the brains and brilliance to beat Boris Johnson", but if Long-Bailey cannot face or avoids answering a couple of questions from a fellow Unite member, I don't think Mr Johnson has much to fear from facing Ms Long-Bailey at the dispatch box. No wonder up to 50 MPs have threatened to resign if Rebecca Long-Bailey is elected Labour leader, which now seems highly unlikely.


Dear Rebecca Long Bailey,
I am a member of Unite the Union and have a vote in the forthcoming Labour election contest. My union has given support to you but I am not sure that I share their confidence in you as a possible and credible leader of the Labour Party.
You recently signed up to a campaign (a 12 point plan), that calls for the "expulsion from the Labour Party of those who express bigoted transphobic views", and you called on Labour Party members to support this campaign that deems the organisation 'Woman's Place UK' to be a trans-exclusionist hate group.
As I am rather concerned with the way in which ideological madness and the denial of objective reality seems to have gained a foothold in the Labour Party, I would be grateful if you would answer the following:
If a Labour Party member was to declare that a man cannot be a woman because he has a penis, and cannot be a woman because he cannot menstruate, give birth, or go through the menopause, would you as Leader of the Labour Party, call these views 'bigoted and transphobic' and would you support the expulsion of this person from the Labour Party?

Can I also ask if you also support the view that if a man self identifies as woman and commits sexual offences against women, he should be treated as a woman offender and if convicted, sent to a woman's prison?
Yours sincerely,
Derek Pattison

Will They Never Learn?

by Les May

SPEAKING at the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) hustings last Thursday Lisa Nandy is reported as describing anti-semitism as ‘a particular sort of racism’ and went on to say, ‘It’s a sort of racism that punches up not down, that argues that Jewish people are privileged and powerful, and because there are people on the left who believe that their job is to challenge privilege and power, therefore wrongly and disgracefully they argue that Jewish people are a legitimate target for racism’.

I doubt that Nandy can provide a single instance of what she claims. Is she saying that Labour supporter should not challenge privilege and power when it is exercised by people who happen to be Jewish?

She went on to say that if she became leader she would try to go further than accepting the IHRA definition of anti-Jewish hatred. This is some of what the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) has to say about that definition;

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments, is worded in such a way as to be easily adopted or considered by western governments to intentionally equate legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism, as a means to suppress the former.

This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.

You can find the full text at the link below.

https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/first-ever-40-jewish-groups-worldwide-oppose-equating-antisemitism-with-criticism-of-israel/#english

In fairness to Nandy it seems that, just as she did, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Emily Thornberry also declared themselves to be Zionists, and Keir Starmer’s comments could be so construed. What is clear is that they meant that they believe that the state of Israel has a right to exist and I don’t think many Labour supporters would disagree. But whether Nandy’s pledge to go further than the IHRA definition of anti-Jewish hatred was altogether wise remains to be seen.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/15/we-must-define-antisemitism-to-fight-it-effectively

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/mar/07/debunking-myth-that-anti-zionism-is-antisemitic

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Tail Succeeds in Wagging Dog!

by Les May

Angela Rayner aka Cinderella

LAST year I attended a Labour party supporting discussion group.  Everyone who attended was aware that the constant barrage of articles in the press on the squabbling within the Labour party about anti-semitism, was simply serving to distract attention from Labour’s policy proposals.  One of the people who attended had first hand experience of the disciplinary procedures within the party because they had been subjected to an investigation.  One outcome of this was that they had been told they must not discuss any aspect of the investigation or procedures with third parties.  Secret procedures like this seem to me to have all the hallmarks of a ‘Star Chamber’, so after the discussion group wound up I approached the person involved, told them I wrote for NV and asked if they would speak to me if I gave them an assurance that I would ensure that they could not be identified, and a veto on the use any articles I wrote about their experiences.

We agreed to exchange telephone numbers and e-mail addresses as we lived some distance apart.  I said I would contact the person after they returned from holiday. When I did the person said they had had second thoughts because even with my assurances of anonymity and a final veto, they were still scared that they would be ejected from the Labour party if it came to light that they had talked to anyone about what their experiences.  It does not seem an exaggeration to say they had been traumatised by their experience.

Given the apparent failure of Labour to get its policy message over to the electorate, which in no small measure was a result of the constant distraction of trying to deal with the anti-semitism row, one might have thought that anyone hoping to lead the party would avoid taking sides about anything which might cause a rift within the party.  Seemingly not!

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Angela Rayner and Emily Thornberry have all pledged support to the 12 demands of the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights. Keir Starmer is reported as having said ‘trans rights are human rights, that the issue shouldn’t become a political football, and that the we need to dial this down’.  (I’m not surprised at the first three, but I thought Thornberry had ‘more oil in her can’, as we say in Rochdale.

Yesterday the ‘i’ reported that a senior Shadow Cabinet member representing a northern constituency had called it a distraction and said ‘My constituents don’t give a flying fuck about transsexual issues’.  Debbie Hayton, who refers to herself as ‘trans’, wrote in The Spectator, ‘they seem oblivious that the public has little time for extreme transgender ideology’ and that ‘Labour is lurching towards a crisis brought on by transgender campaigners whose demand for compliance is total’.

It would appear that Labour has learned nothing from what many people still see as a witch hunt those who refused to buy into the demands of the Zionist lobby disguised as an attack on anti-semitism.  It is too late to put the ‘trans’ genie back in the bottle; the damage is already done.  Labour cannot afford to expel members for thinking differently.  Tolerance means accepting that others have a different view to you.  It does not mean that you have to accept that someone else is right and you are wrong, just because they say so.

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2020/02/do-rebecca-long-bailey-and-angela-rayner-have-a-problem-with-trans-people-like-me/

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rebecca-long-bailey-keir-starmer-trans-rights-pledges-womens-place-a9333376.html

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1241298/Rebecca-Long-Bailey-Labour-leadership-contest-Lloyd-Russell-Moyle-bbc-news-politics-live

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/13/veteran-left-wing-feminists-row-labour-leader-hopefuls-branding/

https://labourlist.org/2020/02/trans-rights-deputy-hustings-and-tv-debates-labours-leadership-latest/

https://twitter.com/Labour_Trans/status/1226939313264394241

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Long-Bailey ignites row after pledging to fight 'transphobic' women's groups!

Drag Queen Story Times for 5-year olds

The Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, has ignited a furious row within Labour's ranks after signing up to a campaign to fight women's groups who have been branded 'transphobic' and has pledged to expel offending party members, if she becomes the next Labour leader.

The Labour leadership contender has urged Labour members to join her in backing a 12-point plan initiated by a group called the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights. The plan demands the expulsion of anyone deemed to have espoused "bigoted transphobic views" and names 'Women's Place UK' and 'LGB Alliance' as 'transphobic organisations' that must be opposed. 

Women's Place, which is comprised  of Labour Party members who want to keep women-only safe spaces, denied it was transphobic and said the accusation was 'defamatory'. It called on the Labour Party to oppose the misogynistic abuse of women. "Defend us or expel us", it said, in a statement. Other Labour members have warned of a "witch-hunt" if the 12-point plan is adopted.

While some Labour members have warned that the plan, if adopted, will lead to thousands of women leaving the Labour Party, the gay Guardian columnist and Labour supporter, Owen Jones, called Long-Bailey a "hero."

Only recently, Long-Bailey provoked criticism when she announced that she opposed the law on abortion after 24-weeks on the grounds of disability. She said that she believed that disability and none disability should be treated equally. She also said that though she believed in a women's right to choose, she "would never contemplate an abortion."

What seems curious, is why Long-Bailey, a Roman Catholic, should be in favour of abortion at all or why she should be a supporter of same sex marriage or want to expel Labour Party members who insist that a person's sexuality, is determined by their biology and not something that can be self-assigned.

Having antagonised many feminists in the Labour Party by allying herself with the vitriolic transgender faction and having pledged to fight and expel so-called 'transphobic' women's groups, is this now the nail in the coffin for Long-Bailey, and has it quashed any hopes of her becoming the next leader of the Labour Party? Already 50 MPs have said they will quit the Labour Party if Long-Bailey wins the Labour Leadership.

At the last General Election, huge numbers of working-class traditional Labour voters deserted Labour to vote Conservative, in order to put Boris Johnson back in Downing Street. If Labour is serious about winning back these disenchanted Labour voters, do they really think that bizarre arguments about transgender rights, queer politics and identities, or Stalinist purges of people who question the cult of transgenderism, is the way to woo these Labour voters back? A northern Labour MP has told the 'ipaper': "My constituents don't give a flying fuck about transsexual issues."

Take this, as an example, of political correctness gone mad in a looney-left Labour controlled council. The picture at the top of this article, which shows a child on the stomach of a drag queen, was quickly taken down by Newham library after there was a backlash from members of the public who found the picture offensive and inappropriate. Newham London Borough Council, which is only composed of Labour councillors and has been Labour controlled since 1964, celebrated LGBT History Month in February with a series of 'Drag Queen Story Times' for the under 5s and their parents and carers. Newham library said:

"By providing spaces in which kids are able to see people who defy gender restrictions, Drag Queen Story Time allows children to imagine the world in which people can present as they wish. Where dress up is real."

Is life really one big gay party? Life is certainly no dress rehearsal, and you only get one crack at it. Is it any wonder that Labour is becoming unelectable and is a laughing stock, when five year old's are being taught to 'defy gender restrictions' by drag queens as some form of crazy social engineering project. Childhood doesn't last very long, so leave the kids to it. Thomas the Tank Engine and Horrid Henry, are far more appropriate stories for 5-year-olds than 'Drag Queen Story Times.'